Researchers for Public Health England announced in the report that airborne particles of smog, dust and industrial contaminants were linked to 306,835 years of lost life nationwide — with Westminster faring worst of all.

The tiny toxic particles are known to penetrate the lungs’ spongy tissue and cross into the bloodstream, where they can cause heart and lung diseases, cancers, aggravate asthma and in some cases prove fatal.

THE PIGEONS MEASURING LONDON’S AIR POLLUTION “A team of 10 birds, otherwise known as Pigeon Air Patrol, carries pollution sensors and GPS devices to help study areas of the city with high levels of nitrogen dioxide.” [HuffPost]

USA: Monday, the Supreme Court invalidated the regulatory scheme adopted recently by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to minimize emissions of hazardous air pollutants from older coal- and oil-burning power plants. The new regulations, which began taking effect earlier this year, were expected to reduce certain toxic wastes spewed into the air by as much as 90 percent: here.

OVER HALF OF AMERICA LIVES IN AREAS WITH UNHEALTHY AIR POLLUTION LEVELS The American Lung Association says 52 percent of the population is living in a county with such bad air pollution, it could “shorten life or cause lung cancer.” [Lydia O’Connor, HuffPost]

AIR POLLUTION KILLS 3.3 MILLION A YEAR “Air pollution is killing 3.3 million people a year worldwide, according to a new study that includes this surprise: Farming plays a large role in smog and soot deaths in industrial nations.” [AP]

What’s the solution to air pollution? By Irene Lorenzo, 25 Oct 2016: here.

One of the main challenges in addressing air pollution in specific cities, from Beijing to Detroit, is identifying the individual aerosol particles (particles suspended in the atmosphere) that make up the pollution. Because the particles are so small — most measuring only 100 to 200 nanometers — they have been difficult to identify. And their behavior in the atmosphere (how they scatter) has been poorly understood: here.

9 thoughts on “Air pollution kills 29,000 Britons a year”

The unquestioned right of men and women to have children as they like, most would not consider the community suffers increased pollution and greater impact upon available resources, in earlier times when consumption was not a concern as resources seemed in abundance, now the realization by many, this is no longer the situation.

THE damaging effects of air pollution near deprived schools in London were covered up by Tory former mayor Boris Johnson, new Mayor Sadiq Khan said yesterday.

The Greater London Authority commissioned an environmental consultancy to compile the report in 2013 using data from Kings College London’s environment research group.

Out of 1,777 primary schools in London, 433 (24 per cent) were in locations where average concentrations of nitrogen oxide exceeded EU limits in 2010 according to the report. Mr Johnson cherry-picked positive aspects of the report, which was never published in full.

Eighty-two per cent of schools affected by excess nitrogen dioxide, which increases risk of respiratory diseases, were in areas with high numbers of pupils receiving free school meals.

A spokesman for Mr Khan said: “The last mayoralty clearly didn’t want Londoners to know the dire state of pollution in the capital.”